Archbishop O’Brien Library

Mission

The Archbishop O’Brien Library, located at and part of The Archdiocesan Center at Saint Thomas Seminary, serves as a resource center for all members of the Archdiocese of Hartford and to the general public. The Library strives to provide an accessible collection of materials and resource-sharing that will foster the theological and spiritual teachings of the Catholic Church and promote Christian traditions and relationships.

Brief History

St. Thomas Seminary, founded by Bishop Michael Tierney, opened on Collins Street in Hartford, Connecticut in 1897. Due to space issues of a growing seminary, the construction of a new building was authorized and erected in 1928 in Bloomfield. The doors opened on September 29, 1930 with a newly established library which later became known as The Archbishop Henry J. O’Brien Memorial Library, after the Most Reverend Henry J. O’Brien, the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford and a former student, faculty member and President Rector of the Seminary.